Spider Queen
The Spider Queen (女郎蜘蛛, jorōgumo, lit "prostitute spider") is the boss of Tsuta Ruins and the first boss in Ōkami. She takes the form of a giant spider with a woman's head and torso. She has no eyes on her face; instead her eyes are located in her flower-like abdomen. She can create webs and appears to be able to harness some of Orochi's power in battle. Background The Spider Queen lived (or was possibly imprisoned) in the head of a giant Dogu statue in Tsuta Ruins. It is never revealed what she was doing there, but she seems to have had several victims during this time, as there are many skulls outside her chamber. She remained mostly dormant until Orochi's release, when Orochi called upon her and granted her some of his power to smite his enemies. However, the Queen remained undiscovered until Kokari and his dog Ume were exploring the Ruins. They heard the Spider Queen's roars and Kokari fled, but Ume remained and was captured by the devious Queen. The key to the Ruins was lost and the water was posioned by an unknown entity (possibly the Queen or Orochi). During their adventures, it became necessary for Amaterasu and Issun to enter the Ruins to find Ume. They cleansed the water and eventually found the Queen's nest, containing a large 'flower', which was actually the Queen's abdomen. Under orders from her master, the Queen quickly attacked them after briefly speaking of Orochi's return. Strategy The Queen's hide is very tough, so she will be close to invulnerable until her weak points are exposed. She will attack by shooting a web, conjuring an apparition of Orochi to shoot a powerful orb of energy (this attack is not used very often), or slamming into the ground. She will also occasionally summon an egg-like object, which, if not destroyed, will allow her to perform a devastating poisonous attack. The object must be Power Slashed, which will stun the Queen and expose her abdomen. It is then revealed that the Queen's abdomen has several hooks which can be grabbed using the brush technique Vine. Her abdomen will open after vines have been attached to three of the hooks. Her eyes will then be exposed and must be attacked to defeat her. They can be attacked with a Divine Instrument, an Exorcism Slip or Power Slash. Generally Power Slash does more damage, but attacking with a Divine Instrument may also be required to finish off the eyes. Note that her abdomen will only open for a brief period, after a significant amount of time, the abdomen will start to shake, giving Amaterasu a warning to jump off before it closes. If Amaterasu does not get off in the time, the abdomen will shut, trapping her inside, it will then pulse three times before throwing her out again. this attack can deal serious amounts of damage, depending on Amaterasu's life gauge. After being damaged enough, an eye will shrivel and die. Once all the eyes are killed, the Spider Queen will die and turn into a flower, releasing Ume and the Divine Instrument Snarling Beast. This battle is later repeated on the Ark of Yamato. However, this time you have Inferno and can deal even more damage. The same strategy can be used for the Bandit Spiders. Quotes *''"Sticking your nose where it does not belong will get you killed."'' *''"Speak your last words, fool!"'' *''"Dog is not usually on my menu, but I shall make you an exception!"'' *''"Very well, then! I shall send you back to where you came from!"'' *''"This shall not hurt. Just stand still for a moment..."'' Gallery SpiderQconcept.jpg|Concept sketches of the Spider Queen. SpiderQconcept2.jpg SQueen.jpg|Spider Queen artwork. Trivia *The Spider Queen is said to have a human form according to the artbook, but this is never seen. *When drawing with the Celestial brush over its hide, the ink dissolves. *She appears to be able to understand Amaterasu's barks as she understood it as a clear insult, wanting to make her an exception and eat her (dog is not usually on her menu). *A similar type of mini-boss, Bandit Spiders, later appear. *The Spider Queen is based on the Jorogumo spider demon from Japanese myths, while the Bandit Spiders appear to be based on the Tsuchigumo variety of spider demon. **Her design is based on Sadako from the Japanese movie Ringu. *Oddly, although her essence is not actually seen flying away after her defeat, she is somehow at the Ark of Yamato and seems to have been on it when it first landed, as she has her own room there. *Unlike every other boss, she is not mentioned at all before her battle. *The Spider Queen appears as a ghost on the Sunken Ship. Unlike the other ghosts, she cannot be destroyed by Rao's prayer slips. The other ghost that cannot be destroyed is the Crimson Helm. Category:Bosses Category:Cleanup